Official blog for LSU's Association of Black Communicators.

Scandal Season 3, Episode 6 Review

De’Andra Roberts

All right, so I know it’s been a while since I’ve written on the hot mess that’s been ensuing on Scandal, but I’m back baby and I have a lot to say.

First we need to answer one question. What. Did. The President. Do? Everyone wants answers and Liv is no exception. Fitz may have killed her mother y’all! That is UN-acceptable. Olivia knows that, so when everyone in the White House was all gung-ho about her helping their campaign, she did what any great crisis manager would do. She shut them up and removed herself from the situation. If you know helping a client is going to personally affect you in a negative way, end it before it begins. It’s going to be nothing but a headache and a guaranteed loss for both you and your client.

Moving on. Congresswoman, yes I said woman, Josie Marcus is running to become the President of the United States. She’s coming for Fitz and our darling Liv is backing her full force. So when Josie was in desperate need of some donors, the Gladiators got to work. They made sure she knew everything about the prospective donors. Why wouldn’t they? Josie needed that money, honey! When you need someone to back your cause or campaign, you need to be interested and interesting. No one wants to support somebody who lacks a genuine personality and doesn’t care about what he or she does.

Being prepared doesn’t stop at donors. It extends to interviews as well. We should all know this. You don’t go into a job interview not knowing anything about the position. You research the company and practice how you will address any tough questions or holes in your resume. (If you’re not doing these things, we need to have a little talk!) Anyway, you have to be prepared, especially if you’re running to be the leader of the Free World. Olivia and her team had Mrs. Marcus prepared and ready for her interview with sweet little James, although she shut him down real quick.

Now let’s talk about that “shut down” for a minute. Josie Marcus did a fabulous job of standing up for women. She won my vote! However, I do have a problem with how the Gladiators got her amped up to say all of the things she said. It was morally wrong in my opinion. Lying to a client is wrong, no matter how good the intentions may be.

Getting back in it, our Congresswoman has a smart mouth! She tried to take over and tell Olivia how things were going to go down numerous times throughout the show. If you have a client like that, set them straight. They hired you for a reason. You are clearly good at what you do and know a bit more about the business than he or she does. Listen to your client’s concerns, yes. But you call the shots. Do your job.

Now remember that all of your focus cannot be on your client all of the time. You have Gladiators, or whatever you may want to call your team, to check on. Harrison and Quinn are in need of some of that TLC. Harrison is apparently running from someone and Quinn is going bat s*** crazy with her gun and B6-13 obsession. I’m sure we’ll learn more about the two disturbed Gladiators in the future, but for right now someone needs to give them a hug. Check on your team. Ask about their lives. You may be surprised to hear what they’re going through away from work.

Lastly, being a crisis manager can get tough. Add a personal mama issue into the mix and you can drink yourself into oblivion like Liv did. Take a break. Breathe. Although rewarding, the job is stressful and time consuming, and sometimes you need to sit down and remember that the only way to do your job WELL is to have a clear head. Don’t let your job ruin your life.

I can’t wait to see what curveball Scandal will throw me next week. Until next time Gladiators!

De’Andra Roberts is a 19-year-old public relations sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia. She hopes to enter the field of crisis management one day. Follow her on Twitter!